image borrowed from skip tucker.blogspot.com
Blackthorne
Cinemagenic Forty-Four
Patriarch.
“The power of patriarchy has been to make men feel that its
better to be feared than to be loved.”--Bell Hooks.
1(three-shot) Lisa touched her wet puckered lips with a forefinger,
then placed it on Johnny’s cheek. She rose gracefully, floating off
his lap & away from the table, melting into the thick shadows.
2(two-shot) angle on Buck, his intense eyes locked on the Indian’s
face--Tell me, old Caballo, what’s the story here?
2(reverse shot) angle on the eagle:--Nothing. I am your man. There
can be no one else.
4(medium close-up) Buck: A few weeks ago I didn’t know I was coming
back here--yet somehow many people in this town seemed to expect
me--just how in hell does that cinch up?
5(two-shot) angle on Johnny: Because your father loved you.
6(sound cue) harmonica & piano.
7(flashback) A young Rod Buck standing in a crowded smoky saloon.
Bill Buck sat among others at the bar, his back to the boy.
8(hold the wide shot/sound cues) thirty voices, glasses clinking, coughing.
9(medium two-shot) Bill Buck, at another’s urging, turned around & saw
his son standing there.
--Bill: What? WHAT?
The boy said nothing, hands in his pockets, staring up at his father, a single
tear running down his cheek.
--Bill: Get out of here! What the fuck’s wrong with you? What do you want
from me?
The boy did not respond.
--Bill: God damn it, Roddy--get back to the ranch. Quit following me around
like a whipped pup (pointing to the swinging doors) So get the fuck out of
here! Tell the squaw your problems--she’ll take care of you.
10(two-shot, the present) angle on Buck: My father was a falling down
drunk.
11(sound cue) guitar chords
12(medium close-up) Johnny: Your father is dead, but you are here, very
much alive--& now you are the Buck. That’s all there is; simple.
13(medium close-up) Buck: I’m sorry--but I still don’t savvy
14(two-shot) angle on Johnny: --You wrote letters to your father?
15(sound cues) bull bison bellowing, train whistle in the distance, several .50
caliber rifle shots, & pounding hooves.
16(medium close-up) Buck nodded Yes.
17(flashback) Young Buck at a small campfire at twilight, writing a letter on an
overturned wooden bucket.
18(close-up) Johnny: He read them to everyone.
19(medium close-up) Buck, after a moment, a beat:
--He became a damn fool.
20(two-shot) angle on Johnny: Yes, he was a drunk, & he died alone,
but he was not a fool.
--Buck: After Ma died, he was never the same. I could not stay here &
watch him kill himself.
--Johnny: No one judges you.
21(angle on Buck) Not even him?
22(medium close up) Johnny: Especially him.
23(sound cues) clarinet, coronet, & banjo.
24(medium close-up) Buck: Wallace, Salina, you, Mateo, probably even
Bronson knew I was coming; damn.
22(two shot) over Buck’s shoulder:
--Johnny: True, big Ciervo, many did know that you would come, but there
was no “when” on their lips. A man comes home.
25(reverse shot) angle on Buck: Just feel bone-busted tired. It is hard to
recognize things, because everything I ever knew is dead, turned to blow
sand ghosts & scorpions in my boots.
26(sound cue) trumpet & harmonica.
27(flashback) sunrise over the foothills above the Buck ranch, two black
collies chasing a squirrel near the barn, dark smoke rising from a stately
rock chimney, with the lovely smell of bannocks, bacon, & strong coffee
on the breeze.
28(two shot) the Present, angle on the Eagle: You know, your father
always had a dream?
29(reverse shot) angle on Buck: When I last saw him, he had no dreams
left.
30(medium shot, flashback) on a truck crane, dollying in to the open hay
loft doors, with a large snowy owl on the end of the red pully-bar, staring
with its large yellow unblinking eyes into the camera.
31(sound cue) the owl’s soft Whooo, Whoo shifting hard into the Who’s
rock guitar chords, singing WHO ARE YOU?
Glenn Buttkus
Posted over at dVerse Poets Pub OLN
22 comments:
nice storytelling again glenn... what sticks with me here is the dying alone and having no dreams left... what a sad place to be...ugh
The separation.. and that love pulling him back. Your tale is both intricate and coming together at the same time.. there is an element of a Greek drama here. The destiny like Oedipus returning.
Another excellent tale, Glenn!
A nice backstory here, with hints of more to come... how much we miss when we turn our backs on where we came from. As always, looking forward to more of the story!
A friend of mine died a few months ago and my fear was, she had been alone. It was oddly comforting to know she had not. This section reminds me of the old Greek myths...Orpheus trying to pull back Eurydice.
Agreed with Bjorn, there certainly are Greek elements in your verse.
Well penned!
You dragged me in so that I wanted to take Roddy by the hand and offer him comfort. Your notes about the music add a lot to the scene.
I most certainly agree with Bjorn.
Love the Greek metaphor elements to your poetry.
You are a genius and a visualist. :)
Good effort once again, Glenn! However, admittedly, I have lost track of what all has happened before....but admire your involvement with this complex project.
Another good chapter Glenn ~ I specially like the dynamics of the father & son ~
In a strange way, the tale is kind of serialized, like Burroughs & others in the 30's-50's, Saturday Evening Post, Colliers, Liberty, etc--but Mary, I feel your frustration now that we are 44 episodes into the project. All of the previous 43, are available for rereading
& review, BUT who has the time to look them up--bit of a conundrum for sure. How do you think I feel working from a 50 year old manuscript, rewriting it as I go, with weeks in between each write, trying to keep the plot changes fresh & accurate--so that some day, when it gets published all of a piece, everything will jell. The episodes average 6 minutes to recite, x 44 scenes =4 hours & 24 minutes of audio-book already!
Good job as always! And I especially liked this exchange:
"28(two shot) the Present, angle on the Eagle: You know, your father
always had a dream?
29(reverse shot) angle on Buck: When I last saw him, he had no dreams
left."
nice storytelling...so much visual...
Great story telling Glenn! A script writer obviously has to stay focused on the run of the story as in this case.You led us through most exhaustively and brilliantly!
Hank
Look at you, thinking ahead to the audio book already . I have several of the star wars audio dramas with all the sound effects. Nice panache in the end with the who song. Yet another layer and this episode adds a bit more depth.
I like the addition of the generations here, the living son (a somewhat accusing presence) and the dead father. This adds depth to the narrative.
Ah.. Patriarchy
feeling silence
'tween sire
and sons..
where Fear
replaces
Love and
Force Desires
moves past
Tender
Loving
hands..
if Barry
Manilow
is a cowboy
nothing changes
as ships of sires
and sons
still
pass while
listening
for Siren
Songs..:)
And what a wonderful
world we live in
now.. where
if someone
does not understand
what A 'Barry Manilow'
is they can Google
it with quote
marks.. but
i guess
i should
hyperlink
for ease..
but
nah..
culture is
already too
dam functionally
disabling to make it
MORE maniLOW
instead of
maniHIGH..
NO Google
for THAT..
smiles..;)
always love your descriptions!...I'm not sure how, if this were made a movie, that you could convey the aromas of bannock and coffee...but I'd buy a ticket to the show just to find out! :-)
The imagined scents and sounds create a wonderful atmosphere complementing the unfolding drama.
Excellent bell hooks quote you chose to complement this!
Glenn, this scene carries more internal tension than others I've read in the series: you've allowed us a different glimpse into Buck's psyche than the external actions (which, of course, do define a person, at least to outside observers). The story is so rich, and real, and I feel privileged that you share it ~
Post a Comment